The invention relates generally to training, teaching, or demonstrating materials and apparatus, and more particularly, to an apparatus adapted to use replaceable, keyed, or coded materials in conjunction with a simple machine to administer tests for sales, marketing, or for general educational purposes. The unit is also adaptable for use in playing educational games.
While the apparatus of the invention has varied uses, one particularly advantageous use of the apparatus is in administering tests or pre-tests intended to arouse the interest of an individual being tested and to determine the degree to which such individual is aware of products being sold or marketed. With this knowledge, the marketer or salesperson can approach the sales prospect in an informed and effective way. For example, if it is desired to sell a product or a product line having a relatively technical character, such as a pharmaceutical or the like, it is helpful to determine whether the prospective purchaser is highly acquainted or relatively unacquainted with the characteristics of the product attempted to be sold.
A preliminary screening or acquaintanceship test is thus able to be used so that the most effect use of time can be made during a sales or marketing presentation. If a pharmaceutical salesman is calling upon a customer, it is advantageous to know, before making the sales presentation, whether the customer has had only a little, or perhaps considerable experience with the class of product being sold. If it is determined that the prospective purchaser is highly aware of most features of the product, the subsequent sales presentation can emphasize only certain particular advantages, while if it is known in advance of the presentation that the potential purchaser is not aware of certain features of the product of class of products being sold, then the sales presentation can concentrate on these areas.
According to the invention, a simple, straightforward, and yet interesting and challenging way of making this preliminary screening or determination can be accomplished.
In the preferred form of the invention, a simple board unit, which contains only two electrical circuits, is covered with a removable sheet or card of a particular design containing information in question-and-answer format, able to be answered by the prospect or student to be tested. Preferably, the cover sheet contains a front surface portion having multiple choice answers, a question portion contained on the reverse side of a folded or foldable flap, and a third or supplemental answer or explanation portion which is contained on a part of the answer sheet which the question-contained flap overlies.
One particular feature of the invention is that while the board portion of the electrical apparatus contains only one pre-programmed or "hard wired" answer sequence, whereby completing any one particular circuit always indicates a correct (or incorrect) answer, the paper component is arranged so that it may be indexed or positioned differently in relation to the board, disguising the fact that the answer sequence is fixed or predetermined.
Preferably, the board contains a battery as a source of energy, a stylus or like answer selector and a pair of light bulbs or other indicators, one for a correct answer, and one for an incorrect answer. The board, which further includes a series of openings for the stylus, is arranged so that when the stylus is placed in any one opening, either the correct or incorrect answer electrical circuit is completed, lighting the bulb and indicating the correctness of the answer.
If the board cover contains twenty openings and twenty insides terminals, of which for eample, the test material may contain twenty proposed answers, although it will usually contain fewer answers so as to disguise the fact that each board cover aperture is associated with either a correct or an incorrect answer. In other words one question and answer sheet might have provision for twenty multiple choice answers at terminals one through twenty, and another test paper might have only 17 answers, beginning with number 2 and ending with 18. Likewise, where there were 18 answers, the first answer may be at terminal 3 and the last one at 20, the first at one and the last at 18, etc.
Accordingly, in view of the subject taking the examination, the answering code is different for each different test. The fact that the answers are sequenced is easily disguised where the test material is being administered only intermittently or to a large number of different people, the fact that the correct answer code may be predetermined is not really a disadvantage.
The printed or test material portion is easy and inexpensive to produce, and is readily changed. It is held in position of use by registering a pair of open ends with bosses formed on the board cover and contains indicator-receiving apertures in various forms, with different test sheets perferably having different beginning and ending aperture positions.
In view of the need for a simplified teaching aid and testing apparatus, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved and simplified testing, pre-testing, or screening apparatus.
Another object of the invention is to provide a simplified test board apparatus adapted to removably receive the cover in a predetermined, indexed position of use, a sheet of printed matter, preferably in question-and-answer format sheet.
Another object of the invention is to provide an apertured sheet of printed matter, containing both displayed and concealed information, at least part of which is in question-and-answer format, and adapted to be indexed in a predetermined position of registration with apertures in an associated test board and adapted to indicate whether a selected answer is correct or incorrect.
Another object of the invention is to provide a simplified, pre-wired board having electrically energized answer indicators for correct and incorrect answers and a movable selector probe adapted to complete a circuit indicating right or wrong answers on test material. Another object of the invention is to provide a simplified testing apparatus which is electrically arranged so as to indicate a correct answer when connections are made to one set of electrical terminals, to indicate an incorrect answer when connections are made to other terminals, and wherein the access to the various terminals is controlled by a board cover having apertures therein for receiving the end of an answer selector unit.
Another object of the invention is to provide a test apparatus and method which can utilize a simple, so-called hard wired testing machine adapted to provide a different apparent sequence of answers by using specially designed test materials adapted to be associated in use with the apparatus.
Another object of the invention is to provide a series of questions and answers on a printed matter element of a teaching or testing machine, with each question having concealed but individually accessible answer or bit of supplemental information for each of the questions presented.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention, including inherent objects and advantages, are achieved in practice by providing a testing apparatus having a correct and incorrect answer partial electrical circuits, an answer selecting probe for completing the circuit, and a question-and-answer containing sheet of printed matter received over the apparatus in a predetermined position of use and disguising the pre-wired nature of the machine and the relation thereof to correct and incorrect answers. The objects are also achieved by providing specially designed printed and punched test material sheets which include a question portion, and answer portion, and answer explanation or reinforcing portion. The exact manner in which these and other objects and advantages of the invention are achieved in practice will become more clearly apparent when reference is made to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention set forth by way of example and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers indicate corresponding parts throughout.